


Don't Let Go.

by deathboy-and-solace (LWritesx)



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Doctor Will, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Insecurity, Jealousy, M/M, Multi, Oblivious Nico
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 02:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13136784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LWritesx/pseuds/deathboy-and-solace
Summary: in which will solace is insecureor alternatively 4.8 k words of solangelo angst and fluff.





	Don't Let Go.

**Author's Note:**

> So I entered the tumblr PJO Secret Santa 2017 ( [@pjosecretsanta2k17](https://pjosecretsanta2k17.tumblr.com/)) and here’s my piece for my giftee; @basic-volk.
> 
> Special thanks to @rosyredlipstick (tumblr) for beta’ing this for me.
> 
> nico calls will ‘amore’ (love) and things are implied, but not shown. This also set in a mortal a/u You can read it here on tumblr.

Will Solace knows when his boyfriend is keeping a secret. For all the years they’d been together, (eight years, they’d gotten together when they were seventeen, exactly two months after Nico and him went on their first date: an annual Christmas fair that Nico knew Will badly wanted to go to) Nico has kept a secret exactly three times.

The first time, when he was nineteen, he told Will he was fine. In fact, he wasn’t. It had been his first Christmas since his mother and sister died. They were out shopping, and a drunk driver lost control of his vehicle, ran a red light and slammed into the car they were using, and they both, along with the di Angelo’s driver, Jules Albert, didn’t make it. Nico didn’t tell Will that it was eating him up inside. That he felt guilty, because he constantly questioned himself: how could he enjoy himself with his boyfriend and his mother and Bianca weren’t there anymore?

Another time, when he was twenty-one, he kept the fact that their close friends, Percy (who Nico liked at one point) and Annabeth had broken up and Annabeth was now together with Reyna, someone who Nico considered a second sister.

And finally, when he was twenty-three, he hid from Will the fact that he'd quit his job after graduating from college and was going to start to work at the DA's office. The DA's office had approved his application as soon as they saw he’d graduated at the top of his law class. Will, a medical prodigy, was going to start residency soon. Nico felt as if that would take a toll on them both and their already tight finances and so he wanted to be able to pick up whenever they fell short. They barely had any funds left for themselves after they paid rent, bills and bought monthly necessities, such as groceries. The drastic increase in salary for Nico would be able to comfortably cover it all, plus there would be enough left over for them to actually start saving properly, instead of depositing some money at random times only to have to withdraw it for some financial emergency, like the time when their rent had raised unexpectedly and they had to dip into the savings pool.

So Will knows when Nico is keeping a secret. He sees the signs. Nico is even more quiet than usual and he avoids looking Will in the eyes. In the aforementioned instances, Nico eventually caved and told Will everything. After talking through them, after letting Nico know that he could trust Will and he shouldn’t hide anything because _effective communication_ was the key to a _healthy_ relationship, all was good again.

But this time, Nico isn’t only keeping a secret, he’s lying. Even though Will gets a bit ticked off when Nico has his secrets, he respects Nico's privacy, so he doesn’t push it, but something rubs him the wrong way when he knows Nico is lying and keeping secrets.

It’s almost seven o'clock when Will sits on the couch, thinking about all these things, waiting for Nico to come home. He has the night off for the first time this week. His week so far has been really hectic; working in the E.R. is no child’s play; all doctors were always busier during Christmas time, and honestly? He just wants to relax with his boyfriend.

His exhausting fifteen hour shift yesterday also adds to his exhaustion, doing nothing but giving him baggy eyes, a lethargic, sluggish feeling and dull, but normally brilliant blue eyes.

Outside is snowing and the couch is so warm and he has his favourite blanket wrapped around him. The news broadcast plays softly in front of him and the fire in the fireplace blazes bright.

He doesn’t know when he falls asleep.

When he wakes up, he groans and stretches his hand, grabbing his phone from the night stand next to his bed. Blurred numbers meet his eyes for a few seconds as he turns it on, but he gasps when his vision clears. It’s almost nine in the morning. Then, he realizes that he’s in his bed. The other side smells of Nico and the sheets are wrinkled. Nico was there, and it seems as though he’s already left for work.

Will starts to panic when work crosses his mind, and quickly checks the hospital roster he keeps on his wall. He doesn’t have a shift today, thank God, but he does have a twelve hour tomorrow morning at eight. 

He goes to the kitchen, sleepily pushing his blonde hair away from his forehead and makes a cup of coffee, black, just the way he likes it. After, he pours some Frosted Flakes into a bowl. He sits and has breakfast alone on a small dining table meant for two, his heart sinking in further into his chest.

He misses Nico so damn much.

They knew it was going to be hard when Will started residency and when Nico started working. They promised each other to face their obstacles together and to talk to each other if it was becoming too much for them to handle. But now, they were doing the exact opposite, and it feels like Nico is slowly drifting away. The distance and lack of communication between him and his boyfriend is slowly taking its toll on him. He can’t help the wobbling in his lower lip. One of the things he was always afraid of was watching their relationship slowly crumble, and Will feels like that’s exactly what he’s doing. He doesn’t have the emotional energy to deal with this so he goes back to bed after, and cries softly into his pillow.

His phone vibrates and there’s a tiny hope that it’s Nico.

Instead, it’s his best friend and fellow resident, Jason Grace.

_Hey Will, I’ll drop by in half an hour with Piper to pick up the stuff for the annual hospital children’s Christmas party._

Will drags himself out of bed again, does his usual morning routine of brushing his teeth again after breakfast, showering, then changing into his at-home favourites: a plain, round-neck t-shirt and black sweats (it was too cold for his usual cargo shorts), and then brushing back his unruly hair, only for it to fall over his forehead again.

Finally, he puts on his happy face, smiling at himself in the mirror. The smile looks believable, so he leaves his bedroom.

Will knows outside is still cold and snowing, so he starts to prepare some hot chocolate for Jason and Piper to warm them up when they get to his apartment.

Then, he sits on the couch, picks up the novel he’d begun to read a week ago from the small table next to him, opens it to the bookmarked page and lets himself be taken into a different world for a while.

True to his word, Jason arrives within half an hour after the text within half an hour of the text being sent, Piper at his side.

“Hey Jase,” he greets them both with a hug, “Pipes.”

Will ushers them inside, since Piper is shivering in Jason’s arms.

“Do you guys want some hot chocolate? I just made it, so it’ll warm you up,” Will offered.

Piper gratefully accepts the offer. Will goes into the kitchen while they hang their coats and settle in and he comes back with two tall, steaming mugs of hot chocolate, which he places on the center table for them.

“How are Annabeth and Reyna?” Will asks.

Piper is close with the couple. They hang out every other week, even though Annabeth and Reyna married two years ago. Will never found out the whole story, but from what Nico told him, the whole thing between Percy, Annabeth and Reyna was really, really messy and they didn’t want anybody involved, so it was kept secret. Nico and Piper were the only ones who knew the actual story because they were the closest to the three.

Although Will should have been mad at Nico for keeping the secret (he was, for a few days, until he found out Piper hadn’t told Jason anything either), he let it go because he knew when not to pry. And that was a no-go zone. Whatever happened was so bad, Percy and Annabeth don’t even talk anymore.

“They're fine. They’re actually starting to consider adoption,” Piper says to Will, a large smile gracing her lips as her eyes sparkle, excitedly.

“Wow, that’s a pretty big step,” Will’s eyes widen.

“It is,” Piper coos, sipping her chocolate, “They think they’re ready to start a family. I might be an aunt this time next year!”

“That’s really good, I’m happy for them,” Will says, with a small smile, “They’ll be really great parents.”

“And what about you? And Nico?” Jason asks innocently, unaware of the couple’s inner turmoil, or rather, Nico’s obliviousness to Will’s inner turmoil and insecurity.

Will sighs, his smile leaving his lips, “We’re fine.”

Jason narrows his eyes in suspicion. Will isn’t acting like his normally bright, bubbly self. He gets the feeling that Will isn’t telling him something, but he feels as though it isn’t his place to point out his observations. They make more small talk while Piper and Jason are finishing their hot chocolate, and the couple doesn’t stay too long after.

Will’s left all alone again when they leave.

He receives a text from another co-worker, Kayla, shortly after. The words makes his heart drop.

_Hey Will, don’t mean to alarm you, but I wanted to let you know that I saw Nico walking past the hospital with a dark-haired, surfer-type of looking dude._

Will’s breath catches in his throat.

Dark hair, huh?

Percy.

Although he tries not to think about it, there’s a tiny voice in the back of his head that keeps nagging at him, keeps asking the one question that he’s trying to avoid.

Was Nico cheating on him? Was Nico finally bored of him, like he’d worried?

 _No. He wouldn’t_ , Will thinks firmly, silencing the voice in his head, _Nico wouldn’t lie to Will without a good reason for doing so. And he definitely wouldn’t cheat. He’s a good person._

Against his better judgement, Will lets it go, picking up his novel again.

He doesn’t know _Throne of Glass_ could be so interesting. Or distracting.

It’s about six o'clock when Nico gets home. Will is in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

“Will?” Will hears his voice call as the apartment door opens.

“In the kitchen!” Will replies.

Will sees Nico walking into the kitchen. He hugs Will from behind, pressing his lips to Will’s cheek as Will cuts carrots on the island. He’s making stir-fried vegetables and, not to toot his own horn, it smells heavenly.

“Percy stopped by, wanna come say hi before he goes home?” Nico asks, burying his face in the curve between Will’s neck and shoulder, arm still around his waist.

Will shoves away the unpleasant, green eyed monster that threatens to unleash itself when Nico lets him go. He turns off the stove and turns in the direction of the living room to tell Percy hi. What kind of person would he be if there’s a guest in his home and he doesn’t say hello?

Percy leaves after saying goodbye to them both and Will goes back into the kitchen to resume making dinner.

Nico follows Will into the kitchen, noticing his cold and detached attitude. It’s not the type of attitude he usually has, and they both know this.

“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?” he asks Will, frowning, “What did I do?”

“What?” Will’s eyebrows knit together, “Look, can you please let me enjoy my day off and make dinner? I don’t have the mental capability to get into this right now.”

“Will,” Will can see the hurt in Nico’s eyes as he says this, “You’ve been acting strange all week. Just talk to me, please.”

“Okay, fine!” Will finally raises his voice a tiny bit, not full-on shouting, but just enough to allow some of the frustration he’s been bottling up free, “You wanna talk, Nico? Let’s talk!”

Will’s phone rings, startling both him and Nico, and they jump in shock. Will looks at the caller I.D.

It’s the hospital. He answers the call.

“Will Solace,” he says.

“Oh thank God,” Will recognizes the voice of his supervisor, Dr. Chiron Brunner, “Will, I need you down at the E.R. stat. We need all hands on deck right now.”

“Is everything alright?” Will asks, keeping his own tone calm, despite the underlying hint of panic in Dr. Brunner’s voice.

“I have the other residents busy with a patient who suffered a stroke and caught a seizure when he was rushed in and victims of a four way crash on an intersection due to a driver skidding on some ice. The ambulance just went for a pick up and we need the help,” Dr. Brunner says in a rush.

“Dr. Brunner, it’s my day off. I’ve been pulling over twelve-hour long shifts all week,” Will responds, while rubbing his forehead, his frustration at it’s maximum point, “Plus I have some personal issues right now that I really have to work out. I don’t think I’m fit to be working at the moment.”

“I understand, Will I really do, but we really need you here. Our hands are really full. Even Jason and Kayla are here,” Dr. Brunner says.

“Dr. Brunner,” Will starts, but he’s cut off.

“Please,” Will can hear the desperation in his superior’s voice.

Will feels upset and agitated, because there are lives that are at stake here and saving them is supposed to be his priority as a future doctor. But at the same time, he needs to talk to Nico, he needs to deal with his own issues, their issues. Will realizes that he has to make the choice he knew he had to make eventually, but was dreading to make.

It’s either his job or his relationship.

“Okay, I’ll be on my way,” Will says and disconnects the call.

Dinner is forgotten as he explains the situation to Nico while grabbing his phone, wallet, keys, hospital I.D. and coat. It’s a good thing he lives almost five minutes away from the hospital.

“We’ll talk as soon as I get home, okay? I promise,” Will says to Nico before he rushes out of their shared apartment.

He doesn’t kiss Nico on the cheek this time. Nor does he tell him he loves him.

The hospital lights shine brightly above him, in the dark December night. Inside the hospital smells of bleach and disinfectant.

He catches his breath, tired from running. He dusts the bits of snow off his hair and clothes. The weather had thankfully held up until he’d gotten to the hospital; it was lightly snowing, unlike this morning. He hurriedly puts on his scrubs in the residents’ office and goes into the main E.R., where, he meets Dr. Brunner. Together, they wait for the ambulance to arrive as Jason and Kayla and two others try to save another patient.

Will is functioning purely on caffeine now. Ten hours have passed since he came to the hospital and he’s on his fifth cup of hospital brewed coffee. It’s cheap coffee and it tastes horrible. Dr. Brunner takes Will into his office after everything settles and asks him if he’s okay. Will mentally adds that to the list of questions he doesn’t know how to answer, but laughs Dr. Brunner’s question off, telling him he’s okay.

Within those ten hours, however, they’ve saved multiple lives.

The man who had caught a stroke and had the seizure, a teenaged boy, which was the one the ambulance went to pick up, and so far, two of the persons involved in the accident.

Dr. Brunner sends him to talk to the boy, since no one else seems to have any luck.

The boy’s name is Brandon, he notices, glancing at the chart in his hand, and he’s reminded of Nico. Brandon has black hair and blue eyes whereas Nico’s was brown, and whatever they were lacking in height, they more than made up for in attitude. Will looks at the chart in his hand.

He’s reminded of his boyfriend again, of how they’d met. Nico had been hospitalized at fifteen, too, for the same reasons as Brandon. Will’s dad was his doctor and he brought Will to see Nico, to keep him company, so that he wouldn’t be as lonely and he’d have someone his age to talk to. They went to the same school and Will made sure Nico was up to date with all of his work. While they talked, they discovered they  both had lots of things in common and a friendship was born. Will had even been there when Nico’s dad had broken down at the thought of losing any of his family (completely unaware of the tragedy that would later befall the di Angelo’s) and even though he never fully accepted it, which was the reason why Nico had ended up in the hospital in the first place, he tried to come to terms with Nico’s sexual orientation.

Two years later, after being close friends and lots of mutual pining, Nico asked Will out, and soon after, they got together. Nico’s dad was still trying his best to accept it, but he was genuinely happy for both his son and Will.

The world beneath Will’s feet spins uncomfortably. He presses his fingers to his temple and finishes Brandon’s chart. He gets the hell out of the room right after.

He’s sitting in the waiting area, eating a pack of potato chips when Jason finds him.

“Are you alright?” He asks Will, biting his lip worriedly.

“I'm fine,” Will smiles, the lie slipping easily.

Will knows he’s not. God, he must look like a hot mess. He’s too exhausted, he hasn’t had a proper meal for the past day, and his brain feels like it’s being fried inside his head.

Half an hour later, he passes out in the residents’ office.

The rest of the night is a blur. He’s vaguely aware of Nico’s voice arguing with Dr. Brunner. Someone helps him to Nico’s car and then he’s in their apartment.

When he comes to, for good this time, he can hear Jason and Nico talking. It takes him a moment to gain his bearings. He’s in his bed, in his room.

“— Hasn’t been taking care of himself. Something, and my instincts tell me it’s related to you two, is off. So you better man up and talk to him,” Will hears Jason say seriously, “It’s been bothering him all week.”

“I knew it,” Nico sounds frustrated with himself, “I knew that something was bugging him. We were going to talk before he was called to work.”

Will doesn’t want to get out of the bed. He rolls onto his side, yawning. He feels like he’s been hit by a train.

“Dr. Brunner cancelled all his shifts for the next week,” Jason says, after a heavy pause.

“Oh. I’ll let him know,” he hears Nico reply, and then a door closes.

Nico comes into their room. Will see his mess of black hair first, followed by his lithe, small body. Will turns, facing Nico as he lies next to Will, on his side, and runs his fingers through Will’s soft curls.

“How’re you feeling, babe?” Nico asks, pressing his lips against Will’s forehead.

“You want the honest answer or an answer?” Will responds, relishing the small touch.

“Honest answer, always,” Nico answers, furrowing his eyebrows, pursing his full, rosy red lips, “Are you implying something?”

“Do you think I’m implying something?” Will whispers.

“Damn it, Will,” Nico says, “If you have something to say, just say it—“

“Are you cheating on me?” Will blurts, looking him dead in the eye.

Nico looks taken aback, as though that’s the most ridiculous thing Will has ever said

“What?” Nico still looks shocked as he stares at Will.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Will feels like he’s about to cry.

“No, Will. Babe, why would I do that?” Nico asks, grabbing Will’s hand, not breaking eye contact, not even once.

“You’re keeping something from me. You’re hanging out with Percy all the time and you’re lying to me,” Will mumbles, letting a few tears escape his eye, “And I know how you felt about him. So I..I don’t know. I just thought.”

Nico reaches out, hesitantly, and wipes the tears away from Will’s cheek, his pale hand standing out nicely against Will’s evenly tanned skin. Nico’s touches are warm and comforting, and Will wants to do nothing but lean into them, but he resists the urge to do so.

 “ _Amore_ , what I felt for Percy is nothing compared to what I feel for you. Percy was nothing but a stupid crush,” he tells Will, still maintaining eye contact.

Will feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulder. His heart is not as heavy. He lets out a broken sob, nodding in relief and Nico just shakes his head before he wraps Will in his strong embrace. Will buries his head in Nico’s chest and inhales deeply, taking comfort in his familiar, earthy scent. Just like that, Will is grounded. He’s home.

 _Don’t let go_ , he silently pleads.

Instead, Nico holds on to him as he cries, _the ugly, loud gasping, hiccupping, snotty type of crying_ , finally snapping and letting go of all the pain and frustration. Nico runs his hands through the taller man’s hair, rubbing soothing circles into the small of his back. His touches silently reassure Will; _I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you. Let it out, babe. I’ve got you._

They stay like this until nightfall, Will safe and tucked away from the world in Nico’s arms, until Will hears his stomach growl loudly, breaking the tension in the room. His face heats in embarrassment and Nico lets go of him with a small smile, gently pulling Will up to a sitting position with him.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Will realizes that throat is sore from all the gasping and sobbing as he asks this.

“Come to the kitchen, I made us lunch. But I guess it’s dinner now,” Nico tells him, furrowing his brows, “We’ll talk more over a proper meal. The only reason you got to come home was because your supervisor pulled some strings. I never realized how badly this was affecting you, _amore_.”

Will realizes he only remembers bits and pieces of that night as he allows Nico to lead him to the kitchen. He doesn’t care about what he remembers and doesn’t remember anyways, all that matters right now is _food_. His stomach lightly growls again as he inhales the aroma of whatever Nico cooked. 

Nico tells to him not to sit yet, and Will watches curiously as he shuffles around in the kitchen, definitely out of his element, running his hands through his hair and swearing in frustration in soft Italian.

He places a tablecloth on top of their small dining table. Then, he adds silverware, and he places a small candle in the middle of the table.

Will’s curiosity doesn’t diminish as Nico pulls the chair out and motions for him to sit. He does so, and Nico pushes the chair in.

Then, he brings around a plate of what looked like fettuccine alfredo with chicken and places it in front of him.

Will’s favourite Italian dish.

“I, uh, meant to do this on Christmas morning, but that’s, like, two days away,” Nico rubs the back of his neck, “And it seems that now would be the more appropriate time.”

“To do what?” Will asks, totally confused as he takes a bite of the alfredo, but Nico ignores him, going into their room.

He comes back with something in his hand.

“What’s that?” Will questions, looking at Nico, who looks a bit paler than usual.

Nico doesn’t answer, but sits opposite him and sets the small velvet box in front of Will.

Will gasps, his heart beating faster. The tips of his ear tinge red. Oh God. Did Nico get him some kind of jewelry? He never did like jewelry--

“It’s custom made,” Nico explained, “This is what I’ve been keeping from you. Percy was with me when I went to pick it up. And he was helping me come up with a special way to give it to you.”

“Wh-what?” Will gasps.

“So no, I wasn’t cheating on you. In fact, I wanted to ask you if you would give me the honour of calling you my husband,” Nico says, his voice calm. He gets out of his chair and goes down on one knee in front of Will and his hand shakes ever so slightly as he opens the box.

Inside it is a silver band, inlaid with garnet, sapphire and amethyst patterns. A line of amethysts ran in a circle on the outside of the ring, sapphires below the amethysts and garnets above them. It took Will a moment to realize the meaning behind the stones. It was their birth stones; January, Nico’s month, were the garnets and September, Will’s month, were the sapphires, and month they’d gotten together, February, were the amethysts.

“See, I love you, and I’m sure now that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Only you. You’ve seen me at my worst and you’ve seen me at my best and you’ve always accepted me for who I am. You’ve been there for me at my lowest, and you’ve helped me overcome some of the biggest challenges in my life; especially when my mother and Bianca died. You helped me with my depression and my insomnia. You helped me overcome my insecurities, but I wasn’t there to help you with yours. I wasn’t there to reassure you that were my sun and my stars and I wasn’t there to make sure you were taking care of yourself. I wasn’t a good boyfriend over the past few weeks and I’m so, so sorry for that. But I promise, I’ll do better, because I don’t plan on letting go of us, of you, anytime soon. So will you make my year? ” Nico asks, softly, “Will Solace, will you marry me?

Will is in awe. Of all the things he expected, this was not one of them. He put his hand over his open mouth, tears of pure joy running down his face this time. He nods. Nico takes his hand and slips the ring onto his finger, almost reverently, tears of joy streaking his own face.

Perfect fit.

Will looks at it in the candlelight. It’s beautiful. A warm feeling blossoms inside Will’s chest as he looks at his boy—no,   _fiancé_. The love of his life. The man he was going to marry.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly, getting up from his chair, going down to Nico’s level (he’s still on the ground) and throws his arms around the smaller man, “I knew you wouldn’t cheat on me but seeing you with Percy so often just made me think about all of these.. possibilities and everything just.. kind of spiraled out of control.”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry,” Nico tells him, tightening his hold on Will’s waist, “You were putting yourself under unnecessary stress because of me. Will, you don’t know how frightened I was when I got the call from the hospital. I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I was part of the reason as to why something happened to you, _mio amore._ ”

“You’re forgiven, darlin’. I love you, so much, Nico di Angelo,” Will sniffs and although his words are muffled into Nico’s shirt, he knows that Nico hears him use the pet name he loves.

“I love you too. You are my universe,” Nico gently pulls Will from the hug and kisses him on the lips, softly, sweetly and passionately, despite the stickiness left on his face from happy tears, “My sun, my stars, my entire galaxy. Merry early Christmas, Will Solace, soon to be di Angelo.”

Despite the cold December, the couple spends the night on the couch in their apartment, their love keeping their souls burning bright and warm, warmer than their fireplace ever could, wrapped up in each other’s loving embrace. There are no barriers between them; everything is out in the open. There are no more secrets, only a sense of love, understanding and blissfulness.

And Will Solace would not trade it for the world. 


End file.
